Congress playing dirty politics: Chandrababu

TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu Monday began an indefinite fast seeking justice for Seemandhra in a bid to tap the discontent in the region over the creation of Telangana. As Naidu began his protest here,four Congress Union ministers  who had resigned last week  met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and urged him to accept their resignations,developments that brought to the fore the competitive politics being played over the emotive issue.

YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy has already gone on an indefinite hunger strike to protest against the bifurcation of Andhra. Having favoured the creation of Telangana in the past,Naidu chanted the justice for Seemandhra mantra,sidestepping questions on whether he still favoured creation of Telangana or wan-ted the Cabinet decision to be put on hold. If you have two or three children,can you side with one. Can you select one child out of your three children. I cannot do it. I have come here for justice. I will treat all children equally, Naidu said.

He accused the Congress of playing dirty politics over the issue and announcing the decision in an arbitrary and high-handed manner and demanded that the Centre call the joint action committees of both the sides to discuss and sort out the problem.

The Congress wants to take political mileage. In Andhra Pradesh,on one side they wanted to align with the TRS by giving Telangana and on the other they wanted to win over YSR Congress. On one side get positive vote and on the other manage the negative vote…. Is Sonia Gandhi so ignorant about losing 25 seats in Seemandhra. She wants the negative vote to go to Jaganmohan Reddy. He will get 25 seats and after polls the YSR Congress will support the Congress an d the UPA, he said.

Naidu used the Italian word immobilismo,which he said means standstill,to describe the present situation in Andhra Pradesh. Why I am using this word because the government in Delhi understands Italian language. I want to use it. It is more appropriate to tell the government in Delhi and the Congress, he said.

The Congress hit back at Naidu releasing excerpts of the letter that he had written to Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde supporting separate statehood for Telangana. It also released parts of a letter YSR Congress working president Y S Vijayamma had written stating the party had no objection to creation of Telangana. At the AICC briefing,Congress spok-esperson Bhakta Charan Das said the opposition by Jagan and Naidu was an after tho-ught as the two parties have been on board on the decision for separate Telangana.

Hours after Naidu began his fast at Andhra Bhawan premises here,Union ministers  M M Pallam Raju,D Purandeshwari,Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy,K Chiranjeevi  met the Prime Minister and urged him to accept their resignations. They have decided to not attend office. Two ministers  K S Rao and Killi Kripa Rani  accompanied them but it is not clear whether they pressed for their resignations to be accepted.

Shinde meets Manmohan

NEW DELHI: After a meeting with PM Manmohan Singh Monday,Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said,We are confident of achieving an amicable solution that gives safeguards to people of all regions in the state. He apprised the PM of the situation in Seemandhra. ENS